I’m a big fan of Lululemon’s Scuba hoodies. I have three and wear them year-round, on chilly summer mornings and nights and as a winter base layer. I loved the idea of a water-resistant version when I saw the Glyde version released recently, but it was super expensive at $168. I debated for a few weeks. While many brands now offer products and features that only Lulu once did (like running tights with pockets), I still maintain that Lulu has the best running jackets and shorts. And their water-resistant jackets in particular are awesome. I decided to order the jacket in the gorgeous Boysenberry color and return it if I didn’t absolutely love it.

My regular Scubas are a size 8. I ordered the Glyde in size 10 so I could layer under it. The 10 is definitely very roomy, and I’d be able to comfortably wear a lot of layers under it. The arms are also quite long and nearly cover my hands, which I loved. Unfortunately, this jacket is very, very short. The bottom barely comes past my hips.

Lululemon Scuba Hoodie Glyde in size 10

And because of the slippery Glyde fabric, it rides up. This photo shows how much it rode up just by moving around a few minutes taking photos.

The jacket does have nice features. The zip-out lining is made with the furry-feeling Sherpa fleece and felt wonderful on my neck. The design of the thumbholes is nice in that they’re not obvious when not in use.

Showing the zip-out lining

But the jacket didn’t seem any warmer than the regular Scuba hoodies, even though it’s supposed to be insulated. Also, it didn’t have much in common with the regular hoodies. The hoodie wasn’t tight around the face. The bottom hem was very different and shorter. And, of course, it was much shorter in general.

The hood is very loose though can be tightened with a drawstring.

It’s very pretty, but, unfortunately, was just too short for me. I returned it. If it’s raining, I’ll wear a longer rain jacket. It would be okay for running, but it doesn’t have a lot of the bells and whistles of Lulu’s running jackets. And it wouldn’t be good as a base layer. So beyond it being too short, I didn’t think I would have much use to it. I also thought it was crazy expensive given that it doesn’t have any nice features or functionality beyond the zip-out lining.

If you have a short torso or like short jackets, you might want to check this out even though it’s not much like the regular Scubas. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Happy New Year! The first days of 2018 have brought my longest break from running outside of my two-week recovery post-marathon. The last time I ran was Christmas Eve two weeks ago. I’m sure you know why because most of the country has dealt with the same thing–frigid weather with temps not above 20 for two straight weeks.

I’m sure everyone has their own tales of woe during this arctic blast, and not running is definitely a first-world problem. Staying warm and safe in daily life trumps not being able to run. Still, when I’ve lamented to non-running friends that I haven’t been running, the response is always along the lines of, People run in this weather!?!? Ha! It makes me not feel too bad. My bigger concerns have been getting to work and getting the dog out.

I’ve been walking to work and didn’t have to go in to the office the week of Christmas when it first got bad. On my first day back after the new year, it was in the single digits with wind chills below zero. I bundled up in all my layers and headed out. The cold wasn’t the issue. It was the wind. I wore sunglasses, but the cold wind was so fierce that it made my eyes weep the entire walk in. By the time I got into the office, my makeup was a disaster and my eyes were completely blurry from build-up from all the tears on my contacts. And I had just got out a new pair of contacts the day before. I literally could not see. I had to leave work to go to CVS to get contact solution and then had to go to the restroom about 20 times during the day to rinse my contacts. By the time I left for the day, my eyes were burning and itchy and still blurry–and then I had to walk home in the same windy conditions.

I had to throw away those new contacts even after deep cleaning them with an enzyme cleaner twice because the tear deposits just wouldn’t come off. After that I started wearing my glasses instead of contacts.

I also tried something new–taking the bus! A coworker helped me navigate our port authority’s confusing website and find a bus I could take. Turns out there is one right at the end of my street that takes 10 minutes to get right across the street from my building. I can’t believe I never looked into that before! I rode the bus one morning and one evening, and it was awesome. I still plan to walk to work, but I’m so happy I have a plan B option if I can’t walk in.

And then there’s Django. Greyhounds are unlike other dogs in that they have very little body fat; the anesthesia for greyhounds is different from what it is for any other dogs because greyhounds’ bodies are so different. Plus, Django has very little fur and is bald on his belly and butt. So greyhounds are more susceptible to extreme weather conditions. Every time he has to go out in really cold temps, I have to put two coats on him and booties. Add to that all my own layers, and it’s 10 minutes just to get us ready to leave the house. Well, when it got super cold, Django did not want to go potty once he was outside. This isn’t an issue when I’m at home and can take him whenever he can’t hold it anymore, but when we had to go back to work, he had to go early before we left for the day. So on some days I was late for work because I had to take him out a few times to get him to do his business. Luckily I was working from home on the worst day, because on our morning walk he peed a single time; for reference, he usually pees like 50 and poops at least once. I guess for him it’s better to hold it than to poop in the cold!

The cold spell is breaking today, and it’s supposed to be much warmer this week. Hooray! I’m excited to get back to running.

The main activity I’ve been doing is Pilates. I’d been lifting heavy weights in November and December and wanted to switch it up. I have a Pilates DVD using the ring (or toning circle) and have been doing that consistently the past two weeks. There are two 30-minute segments, one focused on upper body and core and the second focused on lower body and core, plus a bonus 10-minute abs segment. I’ve been absolutely loving these workouts. It’s so interesting to me how these small, intense movements can give such a great workout. And it’s just a nice break from lifting weights. I think I might get other Pilates DVDs because I’m really enjoying the workouts.

I got a lot of deep cleaning in my house done and continue to cook a lot (I got cookbooks and a bunch of cooking stuff for Christmas.) But I’ve also started one totally frivolous activity–playing with makeup!

Probably around seven years ago, I got really into all-natural makeup and skincare after attending a seminar where I learned how makeup and skincare isn’t regulated, and there are toxic ingredients in even the most high-end brands. I threw out all of my makeup and skincare. I focused on finding good, non-toxic skincare but just never really got much into makeup. I had signed up for Goodbeing, the beauty subscription box focused on natural brands, and got a few makeup items from that. But I really didn’t use much makeup beyond a tinted moisturizer, concealer, mascara, and just a bit of blush, eye shadow, and lip balm. And, you know, most of us runners (or the ones I know at least) just do not wear much makeup, probably because the time we spend doing makeup could be time we spend running!

Before the holidays, Tarte Cosmetics had a huge sale. On a whim, I decided to buy some makeup because I really didn’t have much, and what I do have is like five years old. Now, Tarte is not 100% natural–the green beauty purists tend to bash it because of that. But, my thinking on makeup has changed a bit. I still use good-for-me skincare (mainly the Arcona line), but will using eyeshadow that’s not 100% natural kill me? Probably not. Even though they’re not 100% natural, Tarte (and Josie Maran) is good enough for me.

So, I bought an eyeshadow palette. Once I got it, I opened it and had no idea what to do with it. So I went onto YouTube and found the huge and wonderful community of beauty YouTubers. Have you seen them? It’s like this whole other universe! The first videos I watched from women using this palette were all very young, very beautiful women, all using more makeup than I ever thought possible for any one person to use. I mean, on their eyes alone they would use primer, then powder, then a base shade, then a transition shade, then about ten different shades in the crease, lid, browbone, inner corner, and under the eye. Then they’d use eyeliner on both the top and bottom eye, then eyeshadow over the eyeliner. Then they top it off with fake eyelashes and a crazy amount of mascara. For me, who usually only used mascara and a single shade of shadow that I simply swiped on without any thought, I was amazed. I honestly had no idea that putting on so much makeup was a thing! But I tried some tutorials (minus a lot of the layers like fake eyelashes) and started really having fun. Turns out, playing with makeup is pretty fun!

Then, after Christmas, Tarte had another huge 70% off sale. Everything was so cheap, and I ended up buying a ton. With my haul and watching YouTube beauty bloggers constantly, I am now doing things I have never done before, like doing my eyebrows (which is actually more than tweezing stray hairs that I’d only previously done) and sculpting and highlighting. You should have seen my husband’s face when I told him I was sculpting my nose. I cleaned out my bathroom shelves, bought organizers and organized all my makeup, and now can easily spend an hour doing my makeup. And, usually, it still looks like I’m not wearing makeup, ha ha! As fun as it is to play with and as much as I try to achieve dramatic looks, I always gravitate back to soft and natural looking. We went out last night and I wore a red lipstick that I got in one of my holiday collections. I was actually a little uncomfortable! Here are a few of the makeup looks I’ve done.

Day look (taken while waiting for my car to warm up on a 5-degree day)Makeup for a partyNew Year’s Eve makeupGoing out last night with bright red lips

I will have a Lululemon review up this week for the new Scuba Glyde Hoodie. I bought that along with the Hotty Hot Long Shorts in this gorgeous deep maroon red color (I think it’s Deep Luxe?) when they went on sale. Yes, on days when it’s 1 degree, I’m buying shorts. Winter won’t last forever!

The greatest gifts running has given me this year are important lessons that helped me learn more who I am as a runner. It wasn’t a year for big races or personal bests. It was more about learning how to balance running with life, what works for me, and who I am as a runner. Given that, it was a great year!

2017 in Numbers

Total miles: 1,068.88

Highest mileage month: 158.72 in October

Lowest mileage month: 38.67 in December

Number of months above 100 miles: 4

Number of races: 5 (1 5K; 1 trail 10K; 2 ten-milers; 1 half marathon)

2017 in Pictures

January: A frigid run with JoannaFebruary: Having fun with Ciara and the Pro Bike & Run group runMarch: Scrapped my half marathon goal race and started 80/20 trainingApril: Ran the Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler, my favorite race of the yearMay: Placed 3rd in my age group at the Sewickley Unleashed 5KJune: Doing lots of trail runs and ran my first trail race, the Hell Hath No Hurry 10KJuly: Started marathon training for my 2nd marathonAugust: Still applying the 80/20 method to the Hansons’ marathon method and enjoying trainingSeptember: Headed to Dewey Beach, DE for vacation (our first ever beach vacation for us mountain lovers) and enjoyed some beach runsOctober: Stopped doing 80/20 training and switched to straight Hansons; reached my first 50-mile week of the plan and crashed and burned; quit marathon trainingNovember: Started running for fun again, with no regrets from not running a marathonDecember: Back to 80/20 running; enjoying not training and not running on bitter cold days

Lessons Learned

Training Method

2017 marked the end of my 3-year stint of using the Hansons’ method to train for races. While I had a lot of success with it at first in 2015, this year it just didn’t work. Twice, in winter half marathon training and in summer marathon training, I quit training and didn’t run those races. If I can’t get through training, then the training method isn’t working for me.

I found something that works much better for me: the 80/20 training method as promoted by Matt Fitzgerald, in which 80% of training is done at a very easy effort and just 20% at moderate to hard effort. I followed his 5K plan and really loved it. I was easily able to fit in the workouts with the more demanding work schedule of my new job. I also much preferred running by minutes instead of miles, which evens the playing field so that slower runners like me don’t have to put in significantly more time than faster runners to hit mile targets. And I loved running by effort–whether by heart rate or perceived effort–instead of trying to hit too-fast paces and being frustrated and upset with myself when I couldn’t. Here’s my full review of the training method.

Attitude Toward Pace

I started running in 2011, and each year until last year my goal was to get faster. Last year, my goal was to go longer for my first marathon.

This year was the first year since I’ve been running that I wasn’t trying to go faster or longer. I think I was simply burnt out from years of trying to run faster and longer. This year my focus was really about running for the fun of it, without it taking over my life.

The 80/20 method helped me get there, and in doing so presented a surprise benefit: not caring about pace. I ran by heart rate zones and/or effort. Pace was something I only looked at afterwards. Running in my easy heart rate zone meant slowing down a lot. My easy zone was 1.5-2 minutes/mile slower than what I thought my easy run pace was. I was frustrated and embarrassed at first to be running so slowly. I mean, I’m a slow runner to begin with, and to slow down instead of speed up took a lot of getting used to. But over time, it was just what I needed. I learned to leave my ego at home when I stepped out the door to run. I felt proud of myself for completing a hard workout at whatever pace ended up being hard that day. I ran in the moment, enjoying being outside with the quiet mornings all to myself.

It was transformative. I can’t imagine going back to the mindset of thrashing my body day in and out to shave a few minutes off a time. I learned that I just don’t care a lot about my time and pace. Earlier this year I bought the book How Bad Do You Want It? This year I learned my answer: I don’t. Running for the fun of it is so much more gratifying to me.

That’s not to say I don’t want to ever challenge myself again. I do! But I want to focus on challenging myself in ways other than simply running a faster pace.

Attitude Toward Races

This was the year when I’d had enough. I’ve just never liked races. In past years I made it a goal to reduce my race anxiety. I tried running more races. I tried running races for fun. I tried running different races (see Trail Running below). But you know what? I still don’t like races. And you know my personal motto is, Life is too short to not do what you love!

I guess I’ve always felt that to call myself a runner, I had to run races. Running blogs and Instagram feeds are always filled with race recaps and expo reviews and starting line photos and finish line photos and medal photos. While a number of you have commented on this blog that you don’t love races either, it’s not very fashionable to admit that. I think in all the years I’ve been running, I’ve only seen a single media article (in Runner’s World) that acknowledged that some runners don’t like to run races.

If I’m not like other runners, then I’m not like other runners. This year I accepted that. I get a lot of gratification in the day-to-day routine of training and a lot of enjoyment out of just running. That’s enough for me.

So this year I scaled way back on races. I didn’t run either my spring half marathon or my fall marathon. And no one’s come to take away my runner ID card.

My favorite race of the year was the Cherry Blossom Ten-Miler. What I liked about this race was exploring a new city with a friend. I think that exploring new places is one reason I might run future races.

Trail Running

Another thing I got more into and really loved this year was trail running. One of my favorite running memories of the year was seeing a group of baby turkeys on a spring trail run. The biggest reason I love running is to be outside, so running in the woods and being completely surrounded by trees, plants, and animals is my absolute favorite.

I ran my first trail race–a 10K–this summer. With extremely muddy conditions, it was a disaster and probably one of my worst running experiences. I’m not swearing off trail races forever, but right now I don’t see a good reason to do a trail race in awful conditions when I know I’ll be miserable. Calling myself a badass just doesn’t do it for me. I’d rather run in good conditions when I’ll enjoy it.

I stopped trail running once I started marathon training. Though I planned to continue, it just took too long on trails to get my miles in. I’d like to try some winter trail runs, but I look forward to doing more trail running after winter.

My favorite picture from the year

So, 2017 was a good year for me, though in ways much different from most runners. I used the lessons I learned this year to build my plan for next year. I’m finalizing a few things before I post about it, but I’m really excited about it!

Welcome

Running is no fun if you don't look cute doing it! In this blog I share my passion for running and activewear. I'm chronicling my ever-evolving journey as a runner. I also post activewear reviews, healthy plant-based recipes, and pictures of my greyhound and kitties. Read more about me. Thanks for visiting!